For the third year running, Sanlam has used a unique and creative initiative to land National Savings Month messaging in the minds of South Africans. In a social experiment which had fans at once confused and cheered, Sanlam collaborated with two of the biggest celebrities of the moment, Cassper Nyovest and Pearl Thusi, to bring the country #ConspicuousSaving.

The experiment aimed to demonstrate the value of being thrifty, taking money seriously, avoiding debt and actively building wealth. Because ultimately, the more we save the more domestic wealth the country has, which makes it easier to fund investment, jobs and better living standards.

The campaign built on the success of the One Rand Man and One Rand Family by tapping into two big cultural drivers in our country, celebrity and conspicuous spending to show the difference between conspicuous spending – which is often ‘smoke and mirrors’ – and true wealth creation. The usual celebrity lifestyles were replaced by more frugal choices over a series of a few weeks in July, opting to mend their own clothes, get a roadside haircut, Airbnb-ing their house and using UberX over more expensive chauffeurs. The change in behaviour had fans deeply curious, many guessed something may be up – but most were highly appreciative of the frugal posts as they could really relate to the need to cut back.

As part of the initiative, Cassper Nyovest launched a track titled Mr. Madumane (Big $pendah) as an attempt to urge South Africans to get wise with their money, to think twice before getting into debt, and to prioritise clever saving and investing for the future over flashy spending.

The resonance with fans was way beyond Sanlam’s expectations. Tens of thousands of likes and thousands of comments showed how deeply the initiative resonated with South African audiences.

phindiswa_meka Don’t you just love it when celebs show us we don’t have to live an expensive life……save, save, save, save, save, save!

Kevin KM What better way to teach the masses to live conservatively by using the very people that inspire many/ look up to, it’s about changing a mindset and provoking something positive in a world where acquiring expensive things to be cool is a thing, to teach that it’s okay to not to over indulge but rather save, it’s a great move by Cass.